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Rowan Callick is a double Walkley Award winner and a Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year. He has worked and lived in Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong and Beijing.

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Commentary

Protesters wave a Hong Kong colonial flag in a shopping mall during a protest in Hong Kong, Tuesday, June 9, 2020. A year on from the start of Hong Kong's anti-government protests, the leader of the semi-autonomous Chinese city said Tuesday that all sides should learn from the difficulties and challenging times over the past year. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Hong Kong and Chinese lives matter just as much

We must not let the US protests distract us from Beijing’s far more horrific human rights abuses against its own citizens.

Rowan Callick

CommentaryCommentary

L to R: visitors from China, ppose for a Harbour Brisgde selfie while taking in the sights around the Sydney Opera House. Sydney wants to attract more tourists from China. Picture: John Appleyard

Chinese tourists see past Xi’s angry rhetoric

China’s ‘combative diplomacy’ has targeted Germany, France, Israel, New Zealand and now us. But Chinese tourists are more independent than we might think.

Rowan Callick

inquirerInquirer

Riot police guard a protester as a second reading of a controversial national anthem law takes place in Central district, Hong Kong, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Hong Kong police massed outside the legislature complex Wednesday, ahead of debate on a bill that would criminalize abuse of the Chinese national anthem in the semi-autonomous city. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Hong Kong be damned

While other world leaders remain COVID-consumed, China’s all-powerful ruler Xi Jinping is not letting a pandemic go to waste.

Rowan Callick

inquirerWorld

FILE - In this April 12, 2018, file photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, speaks after he reviewed the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy fleet in the South China Sea. From Asia to Africa, London to Berlin, Chinese envoys have set off diplomatic firestorms with a combative defense whenever their country is accused of not acting quickly enough to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP, File)

On top of the world, but Xi is not immune

If China’s economy cannot recapture its mojo, all bets are off. Xi Jinping will be unable to weaponise a weak economy

Rowan Callick

coronavirusInquirer

This photo taken on April 15, 2020 shows venders wearing face masks as the offer prawns for sale at the Wuhan Baishazhou Market in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province. - China's

Wet markets at heart of Chinese agenda

Scott Morrison says the WHO’s support of China’s wet markets is ‘unfathomable’. It’s not. It’s all part of Beijing’s grand plan.

Rowan Callick

inquirerInquirer

TOPSHOT - Members of a medical assistance team from Jiangsu province chant slogans at a ceremony marking their departure after helping with the COVID-19 coronavirus recovery effort, in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province on March 19, 2020. - Medical teams from across China began leaving Wuhan this week after the number of new coronavirus infections dropped. China on March 19 reported no new domestic cases of the coronavirus for the first time since it started recording them in January, but recorded a spike in infections from abroad. (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT

China’s command and control tactics

Totalitarian methods seem to have worked, but that doesn’t make them acceptable.

Rowan Callick

coronavirusInquirer

A member of a Chinese honor guard wears a face mask as he stands guard on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. China said Tuesday the number of infections from a new virus surpassed 20,000 as medical workers and patients arrived at a new hospital and President Xi Jinping said

Xi’s China shows its true colours

Sometimes disasters illuminate a society’s weakness. Here are 10 lessons the coronavirus epidemic has taught us about China.

Rowan Callick

WORLD COMMENTARYWorld

TAIPEI, TAIWAN - JANUARY 11: Tsai Ing-Wen waves after addressing supporters following her re-election as President of Taiwan on January 11, 2020 in Taipei, Taiwan. Tsai Ing-Wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been re-elected as Taiwans president as voters displayed their disapproval of Beijing by opting for a leader who had campaigned on defending their country from China. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Taiwan victory a headache for Xi

The crushing electoral victory of President Tsai Ing-wen doubles the trouble for the Chinese leader.

Rowan Callick

commentaryInquirer

Mine shafted Bougainville’s hopes

Bougainville’s narrative of battles and neglect naturally frames its options today. It is a long and complex one.

Rowan Callick

InquirerInquirer

In this Nov. 29, 2019, photo, the Upe members vote at a men-only voting booth in the Bougainville referendum in Teau, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. All across the Pacific region of Bougainville, people have been voting in a historic referendum to decide if they want to become the worldâ€™s newest nation by gaining independence from Papua New Guinea. (Jeremy Miller, Bougainville Referendum Commission via AP)

Real cost of independence

The referendum in Bougainville brings risks and opportunities for Australia and China.

Rowan Callick

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/rowan-callick/page/10